Yilan, alternately spelled I-lan, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in northeastern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Yilan is the northernmost county on the island of Taiwan, with a population of 450,031. Its seat is located in

Yilan City Yilan City (Taiwanese Mandarin, Mandarin pinyin: ''Yílán Shì''; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Gî-lân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County, Taiwan. The city lies on the north side o ...

. Before the Han Chinese Wu Sha led his company into large-scale reclamation in today’s Yilan in 1787, the area was mainly inhabited by the indigenous Kavalan people. During the Japanese rule, much of the present day Yilan County was part of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

within its Taihoku Prefecture. When the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

took over Taiwan in 1945, it became part of

Taipei County New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

until 10 October 1950 when 12 southeastern townships of Taipei County split off to form the present day Yilan County.

Name

Jiaoxi Aerial Panorama with Jiaoxi Train Station in the middle of the frame

The name ''Yilan'' derives from the indigenous Kavalan people. Other former names in reference to this area in the Yilan Plain include ''Kabalan'', ''Kavalan'', ''Kavaland'', ''kap-a-lan'', ''Yiland'' and ''Gilan''. Before 2009, the county's official name was transliterated as Ilan. Yilan County in Taiwan from above

History

Early history

Since early ages, many people have traveled from far places to Yilan. Indigenous tribes that have settled in Yilan are Kavalan people and

Atayal people The Atayal (Atayal language, Atayal: Tayal), also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are a Taiwanese indigenous peoples, Taiwanese indigenous people. The Atayal people number around 90,000, approximately 15.9% of Taiwan's total indigenous popula ...

. The Kavalan people came by the sea and lived by the river at Yilan Plain since around 1,000 years ago. They mostly speak the

Austronesian languages The Austronesian languages ( ) are a language family widely spoken throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, parts of Mainland Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Taiwan (by Taiwanese indigenous peoples). They are spoken ...

. Their settlements consisted of small villages along rivers with around 40–50 communities scattered around the area with a total population of approximately 10,000 people. The Atayal people came by crossing the Xiyuan Pass and settled in the mountain areas. The Atayal people arrived in Yilan around 250 years ago and settled along the upper Dazhuoshui River. Later, the tribes crossed the Siyuan Pass to reach the valley upstream of the Zhuoshui River. These people are the current residents of Datong Township. Other parts of the Atayal people headed east to enter and settle along the Nan'ao North River and Heping North River. These groups are now settled in Nan-ao Township. Around 200 years ago, at the end of the 18th century, the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

traversed the mountain range and settled in Yilan. Large populations began taming the wilderness, cultivating the fields and building irrigation channels. They used various means to seize lands from the Kavalans. Some Kavalans left their homes while some others migrated southwards to Hualien and Taitung coastlines and established settlements.

Spanish Formosa

The

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

began arriving in

in the 17th century. In 1626, the Spaniards led an invasion under the pretext of ship crews having been slain by Taiwanese barbarians. They then torched harbors and surrounding villages, and even went as far as taking over Su'ao Town and established a city called Saint Lorenzo.

Dutch Formosa

The Spaniards were subsequently ousted by the Dutch who had taken over the southern part of Taiwan and established

Dutch Formosa The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as ''Formosa'', was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence ...

. In 1640, the Dutch began contacting Han Chinese merchants for trade and levying taxes on various commercial goods. The merchants had to pay all company taxes but also enjoyed the right to monopolize trade.

Kingdom of Tungning

During the

Kingdom of Tungning The Kingdom of Tungning, also known as Tywan, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly ethnic Han state in Taiwanese history. At its z ...

era, the previous economy monopoly system developed during the

continued to be practiced.

Qing dynasty

When the Qing dynasty annexed Taiwan, they established the Kavalan sub-prefecture in Yilan. In 1806, armed conflicts broke out among various ethnic immigrants, followed by pillaging by pirates. The

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

government subsequently realized that if they continued to disregard the Kavalan people and did not establish rule of law and a system of defense, Yilan would become a haven for criminals and outlaws, a thorn in the side for Taiwan. In 1809,

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was ...

incorporated Kavalan into the domain of the

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. Troops were dispatched to quell pirate attacks and chart local territory. Local government systems in Taiwan underwent many changes during the Qing dynasty period. But with regards to administrative levels lower than the county, including local villages, there were no major changes. The earliest organization and planning of Yilan consisted of seven citadels. In 1835, the seven citadels were further divided into 12 citadels based on the needs of the changing population and environment. This arrangement remained unchanged until the end of Qing dynasty rule. After the

Mudan Incident The Japanese punitive expedition to Taiwan in 1874, referred to in Japan as the and in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan incident (), was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese ostensibly in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryū ...

in 1874, Qing rulers changed their passive attitude and took a more ambitious approach in ruling Taiwan. The original aboriginal term Kavalan district was renamed with a more Han-centric Yilan name and the administrative system was also changed accordingly from the original temporary "district" to a formally governed "county". In 1875, the newly created

Taipeh Prefecture Taipeh Prefecture () was a Qing dynasty prefecture created from the northern part of Taiwan Prefecture, Qing-era Taiwan in 1875, while the island was still part of Fujian Province. It consisted of a region surrounding modern-day Taipei, includin ...

included modern-day Yilan County.

Empire of Japan

After the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

in 1894, the Qing government handed over Taiwan to

in accordance with the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Modern-day Yilan County covers , , and as they existed from 1920 to 1945, all under Taihoku Prefecture, during Japanese rule.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

in October 1945, the present-day area of Yilan County was incorporated under

. On 10 October 1950, Yilan County was established as a

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

with

as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. In 1998, the government streamlined Taiwan Province and Yilan County became administered by the Executive Yuan while the remaining institutions of this province have been dissolved in 2018.

Geography

Yilan County sits on the Yilan Plain, a combined alluvial plain created by Lanyang River and other minor streams with a rough shape of triangle. On the three vertices of the triangle sit the Toucheng, Sanxing and Su-ao Townships with a roughly equal distance of 30 km on the three sides. The

Xueshan Range The Xueshan Range is a mountain range in northern Taiwan. It is bordered by the Chungyang Range to the southeast. The tallest peak of the Xueshan Range is Xueshan, Xueshan/Sekuwan, which has a height of . Shei-Pa National Park is located around ...

sits on the northwest of Yilan County from Toucheng to Sanxing. The county is geographically divided into the cliffs and the plains. The Central Mountain Range sits to the south from Sanxing to Su'ao. The Upper Lanyang River is steep and the rapid current is highly erosive. Large amount of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...

carried by the river have little time to settle because of the high slope of the lands where it flows out of the mountains and valleys. An

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...

is formed as a result of scattered sand and

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

settling down. Large amount of gravel accumulate in the shallow

stream bed A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a Stream channel, channel or the Bank (geography), banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports d ...

, creating alluvial fans that often forms into web-like pattern. The river tends to change courses after floods caused by heavy rainfall or river overflow. The Lanyang River slows down as it reaches mid and downstream where silt begins to settle. Yilan County is located in the northeastern Taiwan Island which covers an area of 2,143 km². The longest distance from east to west is 63 km and from north to south is 74 km. From the mountain areas downwards, the land falls in altitude in the stages of mountains, alleys, alluvial plains, lowlands, swamps, sand hills and finally coastline. Yilan's Toucheng Township includes Guishan Island and Guiluan Island. The

Senkaku Islands The Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan, are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They were historically known in the Western world as the Pinnacle ...

, known in Mandarin as the Tiaoyutai Islands, are claimed as part of the township.

Government

Yilan County is administered as a

is the

which houses the Yilan County Government and Yilan County Council. The county is headed by Magistrate Lin Zi-miao of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

Elected magistrates

* Chen Ding-nan (1981–1989) *

Yu Shyi-kun You Si-kun (; born 25 April 1948), also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known to be a strong advocate of Taiwan independence. He led the DPP ...

(1989–1997) * Liu Shou-cheng (1997–2005) *

Lu Kuo-hua Lu Kuo-hua (; born 22 February 1956) is a politician in the Republic of China. He was the Magistrate of Yilan County from 2005 to 2009. Education Lu graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in sociology then earned ...

(2005–2009) * Lin Tsung-hsien (2009–2017) ** Wu Tze-cheng (2017) ** Chen Chin-te (2017–2018) * Lin Zi-miao (2018)

Administrative divisions

Yilan County is divided into 1

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, 3 urban townships, 6 rural townships and 2 mountain indigenous townships. Colors indicate the common language status of

Formosan languages The Formosan languages are a geographic grouping comprising the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, all of which are Austronesian. They do not form a single subfamily of Austronesian but rather up to nine separate primary subfamili ...

within each division.

Politics

Yilan County voted one

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

legislator out of one seat to be in the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

during the 2016 Republic of China legislative election.

Demographics and culture

Population

Today

comprises the majority of the population in Yilan County.

Education

Education related affairs in Yilan County is governed by the Education Department of Yilan County Government. The county houses several public and private universities and colleges such as the National Ilan University, National Lan-Yang Girls' Senior High school, National Yilan Senior High School, Lan Yang Institute of Technology and St. Mary's Medicine Nursing and Management College.

Energy

Yilan County has 40 MW renewable energy capacity from an incinerator plant and two hydroelectric power plants. It houses the Qingshui Geothermal Power Plant.

Sports

Yilan County was the host for the 2009 Asian Rowing Championships.

Tourist attractions

* Atayal Life Museum * Guishan Island * Jim and Dad's Brewery *

Erjie Rice Barn The Erjie Rice Barn, also known as the Erjie Peasant Association Barn, () is a former barn in Wujie Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. History The Erjie Rice Barn was built in 1928, when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. In 1935, a large brick ...

* Jiuliao River Ecological Park * Luodong Forestry Culture Park * Su'ao Fortress * Memorial Hall of Founding of Yilan Administration * Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area * Jiaoxi Hot Springs () * Wufongci Scenic Area () * Kavalan Distillery * Taiping Mountain * Luodong Night Market *

National Center for Traditional Arts The National Center for Traditional Arts (NCFTA; zh, c=國立傳統藝術中心, p=Guólì Chuántǒng Yìshù Zhōngxīn) or also called Center for Traditional Arts is located by the river bank of Dongshan River in Wujie, Yilan, Wujie Township, ...

* Spring Onion Culture Museum * Changpi Lake * Lee Rong-chun Literary Museum * Old Dali Bridge * Tofu Cape * Yilan Brick Kiln * Toucheng Leisure Farm * Wufengqi Waterfall * Wulaokeng Scenic Area * Yilan Museum of Art * Yilan Literary Museum * Zhu Dayu Culture Museum * Nantian Temple * Kailu Xianfengye Temple * Baitul Muslimin Mosque

Festivals

Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival The Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival (YICFFF; ) is an artistic festival in Taiwan, which has taken place during the summer vacation each year at the Dongshan River Water Park in Yilan County since 1996. *The festiva ...

, “A dreamland for the children of

, a magnet for art from around the world, a garden of culture for the people of Ilan.” Seven years ago, these were the concepts that launched the first ICFFF, and over the years the people of Yilan have been making it happen step by step. Of all

’s folk festivals, the ICFFF is probably the best known internationally. *Each summer,

Dongshan River Water Park Dongshan River Water Park (), established in 1993, is a park located in Wujie Township, Yilan County, Taiwan, on the shores of the Dongshan River. Its slogan is "Near water, Have green" (親近水、擁有綠). It is one of Taiwan's most famous ...

attracts countless children and the themes of the various years have become for many part of the collective memory. The number of people attending has grown each year since the festival was first held in 1996, surpassing one million visits for the first time in 2002. Not only does the event enrich Yilan's cultural soil and create business opportunities, it offers a highly successful example which other cities and counties across Taiwan can draw on as they also attempt to bring more culture and art into the life of their communities. *Started from 2004, Yilan Green International Film Festival (GIFT; ) is a non-competition film festival which launched its 3rd edition from 28/4 to 06/5, 2006. GIFT also aims to build up an archive collecting the selected works for the purposes of relevant research as well as education. *Yilan International Collegiate Invitational Regatta * Yilan Green Expo started from 2000. The Expo hold in spring every year and always locate on Wulaokeng, Su'ao. The spindle of Expo normally has three parts and there are agricultural life, ecological conservation, sustainable future. It attracts 300~400 thousand people every year in average.

Transportation

Rail

The Yilan Line and North-Link Line of

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight Rail transport, railway services on of track. Pa ...

pass the county. Train stations within the two lines in the county are Shicheng, Dali, Daxi, Guishan, Wai-ao, Toucheng, Dingpu, Jiaoxi, Sicheng,

Yilan Yilan may refer to: China * Yilan County, Heilongjiang (依兰县), county of central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China * Yilan Town, Heilongjiang (依兰镇), seat of Yilan County * Yilan, Jilin (依兰镇), town in Yanji Taiwan ...

, Erjie, Zhongli,

Luodong Luodong Township (), sometimes spelled Lotung or Lotong, is an Township (Taiwan), urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county by area. Toponym Its name and forme ...

, Dongshan, Xinma, Su'aoxin, Su'ao, Yongle, Dong-ao, Wuta and Hanben Station. On 21 October 2018, it was the site of a train derailment that killed 18 passengers and injured 178.

Water

Harbors in the county include Wushi Harbor.

Notable residents

* Lin Huan-chang, children's literature writer and poet * Lee Chih-kai, gymnast

Notes

Words in native languages

References

External links

*
ICFFF website

NE Coast National Scenic Area website

Yilan – A Natural Choice for Families
{{Authority control Taiwan placenames originating from Formosan languages